Creating Community

A few weekends back I went on my first women’s retreat.  Even though it was to be held in Pinehurst on a gorgeous weekend, I felt quite a bit of anxiety before I left.  Out of 60 women I would know 1 well, 3 sort of, and 56 little to none at all.  This wasn’t my comfort zone.  Questions began to whirl around in my mind.  Would I fit in with all these women?  Could I be myself and be accepted?  Would I make friends?  What kinds of things would I be expected to do?

The weekend turned out to be a success in all respects.  I was myself and fit in.  New friendships emerged, and the expectations during the sessions revolved around feeling and creating a sense of belonging within ourselves and out in the world.

As I rode home I started to think about how the leaders accomplished what to me was a daunting task.  Creating a feeling of community among women of all ages and backgrounds in a short amount of time.  What they did was much like what’s done in a classroom to help children feel engaged and accepted.

• We worked in small groups almost the entire weekend.  There were times when we worked as a whole group, but the real relationships were built when we were in groups of six or less.  (Think about literature circles.  They are usually made up of 5 students.)
• There were a few ice breakers at the beginning.   One was where the leader had everyone make a choice like “Pepsi or Coke.”  Pepsi people all went to the left side of the room while Coke went to the right.  Kids would like these types of questions.  You could easily make up 10 or so of them, and it’s fun to see where you and others fall!  (By the way, there were only 5 people who liked Pepsi better!)
• In small groups there were specific questions we were to discuss.  This gave us a focus and a purpose.  Sometimes the leaders would join a group.  In our case since there were no wrong answers, it wasn’t threatening to anybody to have the “teacher” at their table.  If you’re just starting with small groups, you may want to try some “what do you think” questions to create a higher level of comfort within the groups.
• Every group shared only one idea they had when the time came.  This cut down on how long it took to share and put the emphasis on what the groups felt was the most important idea they had.  In the classroom you could do the same thing and put the responses on a chart.  If you asked how an author evokes emotion in a reader, the answers given could become your anchor chart.
• We played team games like “Guesstures” and “Heads Up.”  It is a great feeling to have people clapping for you and cheering you on.  Who wouldn’t want this?!  The games created a sense of unity within each team.  Supportive leaders emerged who encouraged everyone to join in.  Game playing is a great way to model and practice good sportsmanship.

Despite my misgivings the retreat was inviting and interesting.  Try these same suggestions to make your classroom a place of belonging and engagement!